


Transversal

by reseau



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene, Post-Movie(s), Pre-Movie(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-08
Updated: 2014-02-08
Packaged: 2018-01-11 15:11:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1174554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reseau/pseuds/reseau
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A quirk of collusion like many others.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Transversal

The first time she saw it, she had it soldered. The remaining metal had crusted with rust and grime even in that short time. Some areas so thickened that the techs found it easier to bin than clean.

She’d spent many nights concocting nefarious solutions to salvage the disposed metal sheets. The techs humoured her and encouraged her when metal shone through. Every bit matters but time was against her. Working Jaegers loomed over restoring ones.

She remembered standing erect with her head bowed as her colleagues shifted and pulled the metal apart. The curious mark disappeared under applied heat, a quirk of collusion like many others. The Jaeger danced with each movement as Mako whispered her apologies.

\+ + +

“Mako, your existence is being questioned.”

A tube wrench flew before him, the movement followed swiftly by a pale palm reaching outwards, feeling its way near the vicinity of his feet. Tendo crouched, searched the floor and nudged a slimmer cousin to the hand. The slim body encased in loose janitor’s overalls slid and nearly kicked the burgeoning toolbox at his side.

“And yet, you found me. News of my demise, blah, blah.”

“Haha, funny girl too. Those metal toxicity reports definitely left out something.”

Said girl gave off a long sigh. Tendo heard a a rough scrap against the metal flank nearest to him before Mako appeared atop a board wheelie. She sat up and accepted the hot drink Tendo offered.

“I can only keep the Marshal off your back for so long.” Mako sipped slowly, her other hand wiping a grease mark against her knee.

“I’m sorry for causing you trouble, Mr Choi.”

“Stop. You’re not. Ceramander’s black hide, Mako—it’s Tendo.”

“Tendo-san.” Finally, a smile, Tendo thought. He hadn’t seen her in a week, which for the Shatterdome was not surprising. While people tend to get lost in their first week here or drop off before appearing mysteriously in Mess H speaking of a secret basement and the walls with no doors (Tendo managed to get to basement KV17 before the Marshal found him out), someone like Mako Mori would not be able to disappear without causing alarm. Dear girl did it once and she had never forgive herself for it.

“Something’s amiss with my reports? I took the liberty of adding a few more—”

“They’re fine. We just, miss seeing you, that’s all.”

“Oh.” A slight wrinkle lit between her brows, her lips pursed absently. “I’ll deliver the next team updates in person.” She nodded to herself, determined. “You’ll be there too, yes?”

“Can’t get rid of me.” They sat Gipsy Danger’s right arm, the plating still smarting from the new rivets along its edges. He tapped the metal for luck and nudged her shoulder. Her brows were still furrowed. 

“Go ahead, ask me. I can see you want to.”

“Did you work on the Gipsy then? You know, till Alaska…”

“A little, here and there. We were busier I suppose. There were all these new intel from other domes, other Jaegers. It was candyland that we couldn’t play much in. Not like what you’re doing here.”

“Did the pilots work on it?”

“I gathered they might have. Downtime can get pretty long and the crew was tight. You see how others are around here. Those rangers can’t get their hands off them.”

Mako pressed her lips and worried the bottom half. Her fingers flexed and palmed her knee.

“What aren’t you saying?

She shook her head. “Nothing. It was nothing.” Tendo started to speak when Mako handed her empty mug back to him. “Thank you for checking up on me. I won’t be—” Her face scrunched as she thought of the appropriate word. “A ghost.” 

Tendo left, his heart lightened. Mako had to go through two tech teams before she found what she wanted. Armed, she looked up from the base of the Jaeger, remembered and smiled.

\+ + +

She distinctly remembered that Raleigh brought just two bags into Hong Kong. They couldn’t have taken long to pack. She had given away most of her things and what was left were neatly packed into the duffle bag at her feet. Refusing to step into his room and again hastening their leave, she hoped her sentient presence outside his opened door would be an impetus.

But the man was equally driven to ignore her. “Raleigh,” she called out, after she didn’t see him for a while. 

“Get in here.”

“We’re late already.”

“I want you to see this.”

She leaned as far as she could with her feet firmly on the ground. The room seemed to enlarge before her eyes.

“You can tell me about it outside.”

“Mako. Please.”

She looked both ways across the hallway and hurried into the room. All belongings to its occupant were gone and she saw Raleigh standing on the bed, his T-shirt riding up against his back. In his hand was a chisel tracing a short upward line ending in a turn then another. Her eyes widened at the rust chipped away by the rough lines, the markings familiar and new.

Raleigh made a final scratch, wiped the side of his palm above it a few times and jumped to the floor. He stood next to her and matched the tilt of her head.

“For a long time, I thought you were cross-eyed from those chicken scrawls.”

“I wasn’t looking for highbrow when I was making them.” 

“Someone would find this. Report it.”

“We’ll deny everything.”

“We?”

“I recall a fellow ranger adding her initials under Gipsy’s armpit. And in 43 other places.”A flush of red bloomed across the tops of her cheeks. He decided he wanted many years of this, of them, of things seen and unseen, those unknown and beckoned.

“I never thank you for choosing her.” He turned to her fully and bowed from his waist. “You took very good care of us.”

Mako moved, a quick breath and her clasped hands reached for his. Moments later, the door closed behind them, their footsteps sure then faded. They didn’t return.

\+ + +

**_RB + GD + MM_ **

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading.


End file.
